Chairperson, I think I must start by saying that my surname is spelled incorrectly. It ends on an "o", not a "u".
Minister of Transport, Dr Sbu Ndebele, all members of the executive council, MECs who are present, NCOP members and delegates, moving South Africa safely and on time requires all of us to focus our attention on efficiency and universal access to quality public transport that is effective, efficient and reliable with the express purpose to move our people from their places of living to their places of work, universities, colleges, hospitals, clinics and any destination of choice. Public transport in the form of trains, taxis and buses should become the carrier of choice for the majority of our people.
We need to reintroduce proper schedules with regard to all our public transport - departures on time, arrivals on time, safely, with fewer delays and disruptions. Simply put, moving South Africa safely and on time requires a radical transformation of the public transport system in our country.
Operations like Operation Hlokomela by the SA National Taxi Council, Santaco, need to be welcomed as a step in the right direction, promoting stability and good service for commuters. Today, with rail, ports and pipelines at the heart of a parastatal like Transnet, it should become a more manageable entity and as such it should be in a position to focus on improving productivity. Having ports and rails in one organisation must be used for improved co-ordination and the timeous movement of freight.
Eighty per cent of the world's precious minerals like diamonds, iron ore and other mineral deposits, are located in the Northern Cape province, especially in John Taolo Gaetsewe in Kuruman. Most of these minerals are transported by road as opposed to rail. There is a compelling case for the revitalisation of rail in the province. To show our seriousness as the Northern Cape, we have what we call a steering rail infrastructure committee. It is made up of all stakeholders like Transnet, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, Prasa, and so forth in order to leverage the transport opportunities in the province.
The theme of this debate, "Moving South Africa Safely on time", is apt as it both speaks to the progress we have made with regard to building infrastructure in our province, which facilitates the movement of goods and people, and reflects on the challenges that apartheid neglected in terms of investing in infrastructure development.
Hon Minister, our province was hard hit when Spoornet disengaged from the province in the past. De Aar, which was one of the strategic rail hubs of the entire Southern Africa, was particularly badly affected. That potential has gone to waste. There is a need for reinvestment in rail in the province, particularly in De Aar, because to a great extent the economy of the province revolves around rail. Once they pulled that back, everything collapsed, leading to poverty. For the record, the Deputy President has been in that area on numerous occasions and the community has been raising the issue of the disengagement of Transnet.
We need to engage in a very serious manner with road fatalities in our province. Two months ago we witnessed the death of an employee at Spoornet, by the name of Yolande Vries, who was crushed to death by a train during working hours. There was this, plus many road accidents. Minister, we say that these accidents, which often involve our children who get to and from school using scholar transport, point to the need for us to intensify the road safety campaign throughout the year. The campaign should focus on law enforcement, especially on overload control, the condition of vehicles and driver fitness. While our traffic officers need to be tough with law enforcement, we also need to continue with our road safety awareness campaign. The message of road safety awareness that "Road safety is my and your responsibility" is still very relevant. I deeply encourage this Council to take this process forward.
Minister, South Africa will be competing with Australia to host the biggest telescope in the southern hemisphere, the MeerKat. That technology would be located in Sutherland in our province, the Northern Cape. It has huge potential for the entire Southern Africa in terms of technology, but rail and road challenges need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
Our government continues to invest millions of rand to improve our road networks and ensure the movement of goods and people, especially in rural areas. However, the key challenge is the maintenance of our municipal roads, especially given the poor revenue base of the majority of municipalities in the province. We appreciate the figures quoted by the Minister for our province regarding the fixing of potholes, which will go a long way in addressing the fundamental challenges confronting our province.
Moving South Africa safely and on time is also about infrastructure development that contributes to economic development and creates jobs. In the province we have mega projects that we would like the Minister to buy into, namely the revitalisation of the De Aar rail line and the expansion of the Sishen-Saldanha iron ore rail network, which is of critical importance to the province.
We were also deeply encouraged by the visit paid by the Minister of Public Enterprises and the chief executive officers, CEOs, of state-owned enterprises like Transnet and Eskom to ensure that they aligned their developmental plans in the province with the key infrastructure development plans of the province. We appreciate that kind of intervention.
Another major project that we are embarking on in the province and which we want the Minister to support is the development of Upington Airport into a cargo hub. The airport has one of the biggest runways in Southern Africa. We saw its huge potential during the 2010 World Cup, when O R Tambo was overrun by planes. Upington Airport was utilised to park some of the planes. There is a business case for us to ensure that this airport, which is an international airport, is turned into a cargo hub. This is part of the key infrastructure plans for moving the province of the Northern Cape to a high level. Working together with the national sphere of government and all other relevant stakeholders, the province aims to ensure that we benefit strongly in terms of infrastructure.
Much to the dismay of many people, the Northern Cape is not only a desert but has a coastal town as well. Many people don't know it's a gateway to Africa. We are near Namibia and Botswana. We have some of the deepest seas at Port Nolloth, Alexander Bay and Hondeklip Bay. A feasibility study is to be undertaken between the provincial government and Port Nolloth regarding the use of that harbour as an alternative. There are massive opportunities in the province and we can safely say that with co-operation between ourselves and Prasa we can move transport to a higher level.
We must highlight that the closure of the passenger rail line between Mafikeng and Kimberley has disadvantaged a number of communities in two provinces. The discontinuation of the passenger rail line between Bloemfontein and Kimberley has had an adverse effect on commuters. These are the key challenges that need to be addressed
Lastly, we want to thank the Minister of Transport for his vision, commitment and dedication in taking transport to a higher level. We also want to thank the NCOP for affording us this opportunity to participate in this debate. Re a leboha. [We thank you.] [Applause.]